Spice hoppers: The recipe for a Sri Lankan breakfast feast

Spice hoppers: The recipe for a Sri Lankan breakfast feast

It’s time to ditch the routine and put some bounce into breakfast with a Sri Lankan feast of eggs cooked into coconut pancakes with a trio of brightly coloured sauces and milk rice. Start the day with some oomph...

Dhal makes a great additional accompaniment if you have time.
Photograph: Jonathan West for the Guardian

Breakfast is typically the most conventional meal of the day. While at other times we may be open to experimentation, first thing in the morning most of us are set in our ways.

My wife won’t touch anything savoury before midday. Her mornings begin with a sweet pastry and a flagon of coffee – a rush of sugar and caffeine that may take 10 years off her life, but at least gets her to work on time.

My business partner, Jonathan Downey, likes a full English breakfast: sausage, bacon, fried eggs, baked beans. But he insists that the sausages must be strategically placed between the eggs and the beans to create a “sausage breakwater” a la Alan Partridge; if any of the sauce from the beans touches the eggs, his day is basically ruined.

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When you’re still fragile with sleep, it is comforting to stick with what you know – cereal, toast, porridge, something eggy. But trying something new can be invigorating; and it seems the British are gradually starting to realise this. The Indian chain Dishoom in London is packed at breakfast (its bacon naan roll is a thing of wonder). At Leon, our poached egg pot with ham and truffled gruyere has become a best seller. And, of course, it is now illegal to open a cafe in east London without serving sourdough toast topped with crushed avocado and chilli.

My personal favourite, however, is the Sri Lankan breakfast that draws crowds to the tiny lakeside Pavilion cafe in Hackney’s Victoria Park. Crisp, savoury, coconut pancakes with dripping egg yolk; feisty fresh chutneys (or sambols); and soothing, turmeric-yellowed coconut gravy. It’s so appetising that even my wife has been known to suspend her no‑savouries rule.

Buying an exotic breakfast is one thing: making it yourself is a real adventure. Try this recipe first for a weekend brunch, to give yourself time to master the foreign components. It won’t take long: most of it can be made in advance. The only fiddly bits are the egg hoppers, and that’s just a matter of practice. Before long, you’ll be doing it with your eyes closed, in your PJs, in the dark winter dawn.

Egg hoppers

The leftover batter can be used to make egg-free pancakes for vegan guests.

1 Heat the coconut water until tepid. Whisk in the yeast and sugar, then leave to stand for 15 minutes. Mix with the coconut milk, then pour it into the rice flour in a large bowl. Whisk until you have a smooth batter. Cover with clingfilm and leave overnight.

2 Add the soda water to the bowl and whisk well. Season with salt. Leave to stand for an hour before using. It should be thinner than a traditional pancake batter.

3 Traditionally, the hoppers are cooked in a small, high-sided wok, but you can use a nonstick frying pan instead. Heat your pan, then, as it heats, dip into the oil with a piece of kitchen roll or cloth and use it to briskly rub around the pan. Slowly pour a ladleful of the batter into the pan, tilting it so the batter cooks up the edges of the pan and is distributed in a thin layer.

4 Quickly crack an egg into the base of the pan and cover. Leave to cook for about 2 minutes, or until the egg is just cooked and the edges of the pancake are starting to brown. Run around the edges with a palette knife and ease on to a plate. Repeat with the remaining batter and eggs. Any extra can be saved or cooked plain, without eggs.

1 Put all the ingredients, except the salt and lime juice, in a pan. Place over a medium heat and bring up to a simmer. Cook gently for about 15 minutes, or until the onions have softened and the gravy has thickened.